1961 British Grand Prix

 1961 British Grand Prix

Racing data
5th of 8 races of the 1961 World Automobile Championship
Surname:	XIV RAC British Grand Prix
Date:	July 15, 1961
Place:	Liverpool , UK
Course:	Aintree Circuit
Length:	362.1 km in 75 laps of 4.828 km
Weather:	wet, drizzle, later dry
Pole position
Driver:	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Time:	1: 58.8 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Tony Brooks (Round 72)	BRM
Time:	1: 57.8 min
Podium
First:	Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips	Ferrari
Second:	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Third:	Richie Ginther	Ferrari

The 1961 British Grand Prix took place on July 15, 1961 at the Aintree Circuit near Liverpool and was the fifth race of the 1961 World Automobile Championship .

Reports

background

After Ferrari had dominated the first half of the season and won the last three races, the team already had the chance to become constructors' world champions at the British Grand Prix. For this Ferrari needed a win and Lotus could only finish third. However, the Ferrari 156 was superior to the competition, so that two Ferrari drivers were also in the lead in the drivers' standings, Phil Hill and Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips . Overall, however, the driver's world championship title was still open, as four different drivers won the first four races.

In addition to the works teams who did not change their driver pairings, the majority of the driver field was registered for the race with private cars. The Rob Walker Racing Team announced as before a Lotus 18/21 for Stirling Moss and additionally both Moss, as well as Jack Fairman a Ferguson P99 . In contrast to the competition, the car had a front engine and all-wheel drive. As this was the only time this car was used in the World Cup, the 1961 British Grand Prix became the last race in Formula 1 history to use a front-engined car. The rear engine concept had finally established itself. At the same time, the Ferguson P99 was the first car in which both axles were driven. All-wheel drive was tested on other vehicles in the following years, but did not prevail and was later banned according to the regulations. For Fairman it was the only race for the Rob Walker Racing Team. Another new car was the Gilby 61 from Gilby Engineering , which first used a self-designed car. Also in this there was no further use, in the following season the Gilby 62 was reported in two races .

The Yeoman Credit Racing Team drove for the rest of the season with its two drivers, John Surtees and Roy Salvadori . British Racing Partnership had Henry Taylor and Lucien Bianchi reported. Bianchi then ended the season and switched back to Equipe Nationale Belge in 1962 . Camoradi International had a Cooper T53 for Masten Gregory and a Lotus 18 for Ian Burgess , who drove a Lotus for the last time in his career. For the Scuderia Centro Sud returned Lorenzo Bandini after a race break back, his teammate was Massimo Natili , for the Grand Prix was the only race participation. In addition, were Tim Parnell , Gerry Ashmore , Jackie Lewis , Tony Marsh , Tony Maggs , Wolfgang Seidel , Carel Godin de Beaufort and Giancarlo Baghetti reported with private vehicles. Maggs and Ashmore made their debut, Parnell returned after a two-year hiatus and qualified for a race in the automobile world championship for the first time in his career. Most of these drivers used either an older Cooper or an older Lotus for the Grand Prix.

With Moss, Tony Brooks and Jack Brabham , three former winners of the race took part, Moss and Brabham were each victorious twice, with Brabham taking one of these victories at the Silverstone Circuit . Among the constructors, Ferrari had previously won the British Grand Prix five times and Cooper twice, but at the Aintree Circuit Cooper was the only participating team to have won here before.

training

Ferrari's dominance in practice sessions came to an end at the British Grand Prix. The team again took the first two starting positions, but no longer had a lead of more than a second over the competition. The other teams, such as Porsche and Lotus, had narrowed the gap to Ferrari and had the opportunity to achieve pole position . The training session was one of the tightest in Formula 1 history, with four drivers driving the fastest training lap at the same time. Phil Hill was awarded the pole position, the fourth in a row for him. His team-mate Ginther was classified in second place ahead of Jo Bonnier in a Porsche and Graf Berghe von Trips in a third Ferrari. Moss and Brooks, who finished fifth and sixth, were two tenths of a second slower.

The midfield was also just behind these drivers, with Lotus factory drivers Innes Ireland and Jim Clark qualifying ahead of Brabham and John Surtees . All other drivers needed more than two minutes for their fastest training lap, Fairman placed the Ferguson P99 in 20th position, Greene the new Gilby 61 in 23rd. All 30 drivers qualified for the race.

run

Last victory of Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips (center) (picture from 1957)

The race started in the rain and Phil Hill took the lead in front of his teammates Graf Berghe von Trips and Ginther. Behind the three Ferraris were Moss and Bonnier. Phil Hill kept the lead for the first six laps until he was overtaken by Graf Berghe von Trips. After a driving error by Ginther, Moss improved to second and then overtook Phil Hill. He then caught up with Graf Berghe von Trips, but did not manage to overtake. Behind the two leaders, Phil Hill, Ginther, Bonnier and Clark dueled for positions in the front midfield.

In the back field there were several retirements in the early stages of the race. Natili retired on the first lap of the race with a gearbox failure, Lewis parked his car a few laps later with a technical defect and Ashmore's Lotus was defective. The race was also overshadowed by a serious accident in which Taylor lost control of his car and went off the road after the Melling Crossing. He got trapped under an advertising sign and it took a long time to free him, he survived the accident with only minor injuries. In the following laps Parnell, Surtees and Marsh retired with further technical defects, Baghetti also had an accident due to the wet road surface.

Moss remained at the top for a long time behind Graf Berghe von Trips. When he tried to overtake him between the corners of Melling Crossing and Tatts Corner , he skidded on a slippery spot, but still caught the Lotus. Moss kept second place, but lost several seconds to Graf Berghe von Trips. A few laps later the next series of failures began, in which Moss was involved due to defective brakes, and which also meant the end of the race for Graham Hill, Bianchi and Clark. The order at the top was after the retirement of Moss Graf Berghe von Trips ahead of Ginther and Phil Hill. The Ferrari team management decided to adjust this order in favor of Phil Hill and instructed Ginther to let his teammate pass. The three Ferrari drivers also reached the finish in this order, after they clearly increased their lead over the competition as the track dried out.

Graf Berghe von Trips won his second and last Grand Prix, as he had a fatal accident two races later at the Italian Grand Prix . This was the fourth win in a row for Ferrari and the last by a German driver until the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix , when Jochen Mass won his only Grand Prix. Graf Berghe von Trips was two points ahead of Phil Hill after the race, with Ginther taking third place. With Ferrari taking all podium positions, the team secured the constructors' championship three races before the end of the season. This was the first title win for Ferrari in this classification, introduced in 1958. Brabham finished fourth in the race, his best finish of the season, Bonnier came fifth and Salvadori scored one point for sixth. Gurney and McLaren crossed the finish line one lap behind, followed by Brooks, Ireland, Gregory and Bandini, several laps behind.

Fairman's Fergusan was disqualified after the race because he had handed the car over to Moss in the last few laps and the mechanics pushed him in the pits. Brooks drove the fastest race lap, and for him it was the last fastest race lap of his career.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	02	Phil Hill	Ferrari 156	Ferrari 1.5 V6	D.
	04th	Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips
	06th	Richie Ginther
Porsche System Engineering	08th	Jo Bonnier	Porsche 718	Porsche 1.5 B4	D.
	10	Dan Gurney
Cooper Car Company	12	Jack Brabham	Cooper T55	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	14th	Bruce McLaren
Team Lotus	16	Innes Ireland	Lotus 21	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	18th	Jim Clark
Owen Racing Organization	20th	Graham Hill	BRM P48 / 57	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	22nd	Tony Brooks
Rob Walker Racing Team	26th	Jack Fairman	Ferguson P99	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	28	Stirling Moss	Lotus 18/21
Rob Walker Racing Team	26th	Stirling Moss	Ferguson P99	Climax 1.5 B4	D.
UDT Laystall Racing Team	30th	Henry Taylor	Lotus 18/21	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	32	Lucien Bianchi
Yeoman Credit Racing Team	34	John Surtees	Cooper T53	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	36	Roy Salvadori
Tim Parnell	38	Tim Parnell	Lotus 18	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Gerry Ashmore	38	Gerry Ashmore	Lotus 18	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Camoradi International	42	Masts Gregory	Cooper T53	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	44	Ian Burgess	Lotus 18
H&L Motors	46	Jackie Lewis	Cooper T53	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Tony Marsh	48	Tony Marsh	Lotus 18	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Louise Bryden-Brown	50	Tony Maggs	Lotus 18	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Scuderia Colonia	52	Wolfgang Seidel	Lotus 18	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Gilby Engineering	54	Keith Greene	Gilby 61	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Ecurie Maarsbergen	56	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 718	Porsche 1.5 B4	D.
Scuderia Sant'Ambroeus	58	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari 156	Ferrari 1.5 V6	D.
Scuderia Centro Sud	60	Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper T53	Maserati 1.5 L4	D.
	62	Massimo Natili	Cooper T51

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b} The Ferguson P99 with the number 26 was registered for two teams. Jack Fairman drove the car in practice sessions and in races for the Rob Walker Racing Team. After 56 laps he handed the car over to Stirling Moss, who drove for the RRC Walker Racing Team.

Classifications

Starting grid

Item	driver	constructor	time	Ø speed	begin
01	Phil Hill	Ferrari	1: 58.8 :	146.30 km / h	01
02	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	1: 58.8	146.30 km / h	02
03	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	1: 58.8	146.30 km / h	03
04th	Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips	Ferrari	1: 58.8	146.30 km / h	04th
05	Stirling Moss	Lotus Climax	1: 59.0	146.06 km / h	05
06th	Tony Brooks	BRM-Climax	1: 59.0	146.06 km / h	06th
07th	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	1: 59.2	145.81 km / h	07th
08th	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	1: 59.2	145.81 km / h	08th
09	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	1: 59.4	145.57 km / h	09
10	John Surtees	Cooper-Climax	1: 59.6	145.32 km / h	10
11	Graham Hill	BRM-Climax	2: 00.0	144.84 km / h	11
12	Dan Gurney	Porsche	2: 00.2	144.60 km / h	12
13	Roy Salvadori	Cooper-Climax	2: 00.8	143.88 km / h	13
14th	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	2: 01.0	143.64 km / h	14th
15th	Jackie Lewis	Cooper-Climax	2: 01.0	143.64 km / h	15th
16	Masts Gregory	Cooper-Climax	2: 01.4	143.17 km / h	16
17th	Henry Taylor	Lotus Climax	2: 01.8	142.70 km / h	17th
18th	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	2: 02.0	142.47 km / h	18th
19th	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari	2: 02.0	142.47 km / h	19th
20th	Jack Fairman	Ferguson Climax	2: 03.4	140.85 km / h	20th
21st	Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper Maserati	2: 03.6	140.62 km / h	21st
22nd	Wolfgang Seidel	Lotus Climax	2: 04.2	139.94 km / h	22nd
23	Keith Greene	Gilby Maserati	2: 06.0	137.94 km / h	23
24	Tony Maggs	Lotus Climax	2: 06.4	137.51 km / h	24
25th	Ian Burgess	Lotus Climax	2: 06.6	137.29 km / h	25th
26th	Gerry Ashmore	Lotus Climax	2: 08.2	135.58 km / h	26th
27	Tony Marsh	Lotus Climax	2: 09.6	134.11 km / h	27
28	Massimo Natili	Cooper Maserati	2: 10.2	133.49 km / h	28
29	Tim Parnell	Lotus Climax	2: 16.8	127.05 km / h	29
30th	Lucien Bianchi	Lotus Climax	2: 18.8	125.22 km / h	30th

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap	Failure reason
01	Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips	Ferrari	75		2: 40: 53.6	04th	1: 58.8
02	Phil Hill	Ferrari	75		+ 46.0	01	1: 59.4
03	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	75		+ 46.8	02	1: 59.6
04th	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	75		+1: 08.6	09	1: 58.8
05	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	75		+1: 16.2	03	1: 58.2
06th	Roy Salvadori	Cooper-Climax	75		+1: 26.2	13	1: 59.0
07th	Dan Gurney	Porsche	74		+ 1 lap	12	1: 59.8
08th	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	74		+ 1 lap	14th	1: 59.2
09	Tony Brooks	BRM	73		+ 2 rounds	06th	1: 57.8
10	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	72		+ 3 rounds	07th	2: 00.6
11	Masts Gregory	Cooper-Climax	71		+ 4 rounds	16	2: 03.2
12	Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper Maserati	71		+ 4 rounds	21st	2: 02.4
13	Tony Maggs	Lotus Climax	69		+ 6 rounds	24	2: 04.4
14th	Ian Burgess	Lotus Climax	69		+ 6 rounds	25th	2: 04.2
15th	Keith Greene	Gilby-Climax	69		+ 6 rounds	23	2: 06.4
16	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	69		+ 6 rounds	18th	2: 05.4
17th	Wolfgang Seidel	Lotus Climax	58		+ 17 rounds	22nd	2: 08.2
-	Jack Fairman Stirling Moss	Ferguson Climax	56		DSQ	20th	2: 09.0	been pushed
-	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	62		DNF	08th	1: 59.2	Oil leak
-	Lucien Bianchi	Lotus Climax	45		DNF	30th	2: 17.8	transmission
-	Stirling Moss	Lotus Climax	44		DNF	05	2: 00.8	Brakes
-	Graham Hill	BRM-Climax	43		DNF	11	2: 11.8	Engine failure
-	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari	27		DNF	19th	2: 14.0	accident
-	Tony Marsh	Lotus Climax	25th		DNF	27	2: 17.0	ignition
-	John Surtees	Cooper-Climax	23		DNF	10	2: 12.4	differential
-	Tim Parnell	Lotus Climax	12		DNF	29	2: 32.6	coupling
-	Gerry Ashmore	Lotus Climax	07th		DNF	26th	2: 37.6	ignition
-	Jackie Lewis	Cooper-Climax	07th		DNF	15th	2: 23.8	Handling
-	Henry Taylor	Lotus Climax	05		DNF	17th	2: 18.4	accident
-	Massimo Natili	Cooper Maserati	00		DNF	28		transmission

World Cup stands after the race

The first six of the race got 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 points. Only the five best results from eight races counted. In the constructors' championship, the first six of the race got 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 points, only the points of the best placed driver on a team counted.

Driver ranking

Item driver constructor Points 01  Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips Ferrari 27 02  Phil Hill Ferrari 25th 03  Richie Ginther Ferrari 16 04th  Stirling Moss Lotus Climax 12 05  Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari 9 06th  Dan Gurney Porsche 9 07th  Jim Clark Lotus Climax 8th 08th  Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 4th

Item driver constructor Points 09  Innes Ireland Lotus Climax 3 10  Olivier Gendebien Ferrari 3 11  Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 3 12  Jo Bonnier Porsche 2 13  John Surtees Cooper-Climax 2 14th  Graham Hill BRM-Climax 1 15th  Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 1

Constructors' championship

Item constructor Points 01  Ferrari 38 02  lotus 16 03  Porsche 11 04th  cooper 9 05  BRM 1

Web links

• Results at motorsportarchiv.de
• Photos at f1-facts.com
• Grand Prix Results: British GP, 1961 at grandprix.com
• Von Trips leads home Ferrari trio at espnf1.com